H is for Home
by Lunaandtwilight07
Summary: When Regina ventured on a business trip to London, she had no idea that one visit to a toy store had the ability to change her whole life, but when a little boy with a mop of brown hair bumps into her whilst playing with his dinosaur, everything changes and she just can't bring herself to let go of him and his dashing father who she has an immediate connection with. (OutlawQueen)
1. Chapter 1

**I know! I'm starting something when I already have god knows how many fics on the go, but this is going to be short I promise, it started of as being a One Shot for my Alphabet of OQ series, but I decided to post it separately whilst it's in progress, so technically I was writing it anyway!**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Regina never really fit in with any crowd, she had no family, nothing that tied her down, she was a free spirit, a lone wolf so to speak. Her father died when she was very young and she had left home at the tender age of eighteen to search for bigger and better things. Unfortunately, bigger and better things weren't always as they seemed, although she got away from her mother and her controlling nature, she found that maybe it was better to have someone who cared about you and was a little protective, than to not have anyone, to being alone.

When she first moved to New York, she was young and excited, the idea of discovering new things, places and people was always something that had intrigued her, she wanted to travel, see the world, but first she would actually need some money to do that. She got an internship straight out of high school with an acquaintance of her mother, she was glad that her mother had been very eager for her to succeed and was more than happy to put a good word in with Mr Gold.

That was fifteen years ago now and she was still working for him, however she had a lot of freedom, he didn't control her, as long as she did her job right, there was nothing he complained about. At first, she had wanted to become an owner of a large company, thought it was a great idea, but that soon chanced and she decided that she was just going to stay as Gold's assistant and it was safe to say he was more than happy about that.

The perks of being assistant to one of the most successful business men in all of America were vast, her salary was crazily high and Gold always invited her to go with him whenever he left the country, which meant that she had been across the globe and experienced different places and cultures. She couldn't complain really, she had literally everything, except maybe companionship, she didn't have someone who she could go home to at night, that wasn't something that was really on the cards, she didn't see it happening in her life, it was hard to find someone who she connected with. She had the odd little fling here and there, but nothing substantial, nothing that actually meant something.

Currently, she was sat on board Gold's private jet, bound towards London, England, somewhere else to add to her list which had grown rather vast over the fifteen years she had been working with Gold. Regina got on with her boss, they had the same sense of humour and tended to ricocheted off each other, sometimes however, they didn't get on at all and fought like cats and dogs, but they were okay, he was a kind of father figure in her life, so she freaked out when people asked them if they were together romantically, he did too if she were honest, he didn't like it.

She sat in her chair twisting her fingers as she looked over to him, he was typing on his mac book and she sighed, before slipping lower into her comfy leather recliner and closing her eyes. She moved a hand to her hair and twirled it, she had decided to chop it off a couple of years ago, but now it fell to her collar bone and she though it to be the perfect length, she slipped off her heels and took her phone out of her pocket, before looking back over at Gold again.

"Dearie, you really are distracting," he scoffed, his hands ceasing to type as he looked over at her, "talk."

"What? Why do you think I need to talk about anything?"

"I know you Regina and I know when your mind is preoccupied."

"It's not, I'm just… I don't know what it is okay, I just feel strange, I can't explain it, anyway, it doesn't matter," she shook her head, it didn't matter, but it was weirding her out how she couldn't place what had made her feel somewhat disjointed, maybe it was the fact that she had never been to England before, but she had never felt this way when going to the other countries she had visited, so it couldn't be that, but she didn't know what it was, not in the slightest.

"Regina, something tells me that you aren't exactly focused."

"Well, you haven't given me much to focus on," she countered, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Touché, how about I give you some paperwork to fill in, would you like that?"

"Hmm, not really," she chuckled, "but if you need it doing I might as well do it now instead of postponing."

"Okay then," he grabbed his briefcase from the ground and fished out a pile of papers, before dropping them on the table in front of her, "enjoy Miss Mills."

"Oh, I'm sure I will," she nodded, looking at the first page and seeing that they were basic forms which shouldn't be too complicated.

After landing in London, they made their way to the hotel, separate rooms of course. Her room was pretty, the coloured with a mix of light purple and white, the first thing she did was drop her travel cases by the door and run to flop down on the double bed, it was always the first thing she did, any time she was in a new country, she would try out the new bed straight away. This one was a good one and definitely had her seal of approval.

She had to attend a meeting with Gold in a couple of hours, but until then she had free rein to explore and explore she would, she wasn't going to waste a single second of her time here. She hopped up off the bed and grabbed her purse and coat, before closing the door behind her and walking out of the room, out of the hotel.

* * *

After looking in a few shops and buying a couple of items, she came up to a massive toy shop, peering through the window she smiled and shook her head before deciding she was going to go inside and look around, maybe she could bring a present back for Henry, he was her best friend's son, but she loved to spoil him as if he were hers, plus it was an excuse to look around a toy store without looking like a weird woman who was too old to be shopping in one.

Looking around she shook her head, it was massive, a ridiculous size with seven floors filled with toys and other things for children. She felt a niggling feeling deep down, a pang of want, she wanted a child of her own who she could spoil with toys, she wanted someone to call her mommy and depend on her completely.

A little girl with blonde hair that was fastened in pink ribbons walked past with her mother, she was clinging to a doll which had hair just like hers. Regina smiled and looked to the right, seeing a little boy playing with lego blocks. There was just something about children that made her feel like her life was missing something important, someone she could love unconditionally. Sighing she walked up the stairs and came to the dinosaur section, Henry loved them, he was going through a phase where he was completely obsessed with dinosaurs, so that would probably be an ideal present from his aunt Gina.

She looked at them all, there were so many different types with different colours, how on earth was she supposed to choose just one? There were too many to even take in, she picked up a Diplodocus and looked at it closely, running her fingers over its long neck and tail. She grinned and shook her head, Henry would love...

"Rawww!" Someone bumped into her legs and she turned around to see a little boy with scruffy brown hair and dark eyes looking up at her with a cheeky dimpled grin on his face.

"Well roar to you too," she chuckled, bending down to look at him closer, "what do you have there?" She asked, gesturing to the dinosaur in his hand.

"This is a T Rex! The fiercest dinosaur there is!" He laughed, before looking at the one she was holding, "that one's a Diplodocus, he only eats leaves because he is a herbivore," he nodded.

"Wow aren't you clever."

He beamed up at her proudly, "my daddy taught me all the names of the dinosaurs and we have a big book with pictures and flaps and everything!" he gushed.

"Well I am impressed," she quipped. He was the cutest child she had ever seen in her life.

"Thank you. Do you want to know what all the dinosaurs are?"

Regina was about to answer when she heard a man yelling, "Roland!"

She saw the boy's eyes widen as he looked around, she spotted a man with a worried look on his face running towards them, she guessed that this man was the child's father even though they looked nothing alike, the father had light hair and when he was close enough she realised blue eyes, blue eyes which were currently full of panic. When he reached, them he scooped up the boy in his arms, holding him tight, "what have a told you about running off and scaring daddy like that?"

His accent was clearly British and it was kind of affecting her seeing how loving he was with his son, now he was up close she could see that he was actually pretty handsome and had a generous about of stubble decorating his jaw, but she always liked a guy with stubble, not that anything was going to happen between them, who went to the toy store to pick up a date? Plus, he was probably married, they were probably a happy little family with a woman who looked just like the little boy.

"Sorry Daddy, I was just talking to the nice lady about her Diplodocus," he stated, bowing his head as he looked at his feet, "she said I was clever."

Then as if only just noticing that she was there the man looked up at her, his eyes widening slightly as they met hers, "oh, hello," he smiled and then she saw it, the resemblance between himself and his son, it was the dimples, that smile obviously ran in the family. "I apologise for my son, he is overeager sometimes, especially when it comes to Hamley's and getting a new toy."

"Oh, it's no trouble, I was quite enjoying our little conversation," she smiled, looking down at the little boy who was staring at her with a cheeky grin on his face, "I think he was about to teach me the names of all the dinosaurs."

"Was he?" the father chuckled, looking down at his son, "well then, go and tell the nice lady the names." He looked at her and cast her a smirk, before they both watched Roland.

"I will!" he squealed, grabbing one off the shelf, "this one is a Pterodactyl, it has big wings so it can fly, see," he demonstrated, making the plastic toy move through the air.

"Oh wow," she laughed as he made it fly past her and through the handle of her shopping bag. She looked at the man stood next to her and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"So, which one of these is yours?" he asked, gesturing towards the children that were playing around them.

"Oh, none," she shook her head, "I don't have a child, I'm just finding a present for my godson."

"I see," he chuckled, "it's Robin by the way," he stated, extending his hand to her.

"What is?"

"My name is Robin."

"Regina," she smiled, accepting his hand and shaking it, she shuddered as her skin met his, she stared into his eyes, slightly startled by what was going on, he seemed to have been just as affected as she was. The moment was broken though when Roland came over holding up a dinosaur in both hands, the T-rex secured under his arm.

"This one is a Stegosaurus," he stated showing her one before looking at the other, "and this one is…" he stared at it for a couple of seconds before yelling out loud, "a Triceratops!"

"Oh wow," Regina gasped, playing along and showing him how impressed she was that he had remembered all the long names, which to be honest was actually quite impressive, the boy couldn't have been all that old, maybe four or five. "Well thank you for telling me because I would have never known," she chuckled, "so, which dinosaur do you think I should buy?"

"I think you should buy that one," he pointed to the one in her hands.

She looked down at the Diplodocus and smiled, she agreed with him, Henry would definitely like it, he already had many T-Rexs, so it might be a nice change for him to have a dinosaur of another type, "I think so too," she nodded, "which one do you like?" She asked, seeing that his clear favourite was the one that he had been clinging to for the entire time she had known him.

"This T-Rex! This is the T-Rex that we came to get, because I don't have this one and daddy said that we could come and get one today!" he squealed in delight, holding it tightly, "look see, it's arms move and so does its mouth like that!" he pressed a button and the jaw closed on his finger, causing him to laugh as he shook his head, "try it!"

His happiness was infectious, she smiled at Robin before placing her finger inside the mouth of the t-rex as Roland pressed the button and its mouth closed on her finger, "it tickles."

"It does tickle, daddy, your turn, the nice lady tried it."

"Roland, the nice lady is called Regina." Robin informed him, looking at her and casting her one of his beautiful smiles, his blue eyes captivating her, before her attention was drawn back to Roland.

"Oh, Gina." He beamed, reaching out to shake her hand, she was guessing that it was because he had seen his father greet her that way, "my name is Roland and I'm five, I don't have a mommy."

The smile on her face faltered a little bit as she turned to look at Robin, apparently, he had been caught as off guard just as much as she had and was staring at his son, then his gaze turned to her, "you don't?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"No, she's an angel, she's up in heaven, that's what daddy said," Roland nodded.

Regina cast Robin a sombre look, he was a widower? He'd had to raise his son alone, being a single parent without anyone to consult with, without a mother for his son. Clearly, he had done an amazing job, but it was so sad, not just for Roland but for Robin too, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's alright," Robin closed his eyes and shook his head, "Roland, how about we go buy that dinosaur now," his voice wasn't as confident as it had been earlier and she could tell that he was mulling it over in his head, reminiscing, "I need to drop you off at Grace's house before I go back to work."

"Why do you have to go back to work daddy?"

"Because I just do buddy, I have an important meeting with someone this afternoon and he has travelled a long way to come and see me, so I can't be late."

"Oh, okay then, but we are having our special dinner tonight, aren't we?"

"Yes," Robin nodded.

Regina was just about to inform them that she would come to the check out with them when a loud ringtone sounded and she slipped her hand in her jacket pocket, pulling out her iPhone and answering, "Gold?"

"Regina, I need you back at the hotel for briefing as soon as possible, we are meeting the client in an hour or so."

"Yes, I will be right there, I just have one thing to do and then I am on my way."

"Good, Regna please don't be late, you know how much I hate having to tell you off."

"Yes boss," she chuckled, rolling her eyes, "there I was thinking that you rather enjoyed it."

"Regina."

"I'm coming, don't get you nickers in a twist."

"Regina."

"On my way now," she laughed. Regina closed off her phone and slipped it back in her pocket.

"You have somewhere to be?" Robin asked as they all walked towards the tills.

"Yes, I have a meeting," she stated regretfully, she would have loved to spend more time with them.

"Me too," Robin nodded, "work commitments hey," he tutted.

"Hmm, my work did get me a free trip to London so I can't really complain," she chuckled, noticing that Roland was staring up at her.

"Where did you come here from Gina?" He asked finding her hand and playing with it gently.

God, how was it so easy to get attached to a child? He was just so adorable and had already made up a pet name for her, which she got called by others, but they were old friends, not people she had literally just met, she liked it when he called her that it was cute. "I am from a long way away, do you know where America is?" She asked as his hand closed around hers and he shook his head.

"I've heard about America, but I don't know where it is," he stated.

"Well it's across the sea, you have to take a plane or a boat to get there," she told him.

When they reached the front of the queue, Roland shoved his T-Rex into his father's arms before skipping with Regina to the counter. "Sweetie, I think you should probably stay with your dad," she stated, looking down at him.

"No, I don't want to, I want to learn about America!" He shouted, clinging onto her.

"Roland," Robin scooped him up and sighed, "sorry, he's usually so nervous with strangers and doesn't talk to anyone," he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at his son who was now crying against his suit jacket.

"Gina isn't a stranger," the boy cried, "she likes dinosaurs, especially the Diplodocus. I want to talk to Gina more," he whimpered, letting out a little hiccup.

Regina paid for Henry's dinosaur before waiting to walk out of the store with them. What the hell was happening? Robin had said that Roland was shy, but the little boy she had met was anything but, he seemed bold and outgoing, chatted away to his heart's content, telling her about anything and everything. She looked over at the father and son and saw that the woman on the till was trying to talk to Roland, but he simply buried himself in his father's jacket and shook his head. Robin handed him the T-Rex and he took it, tucking it under his arm, before snuggling up to his dad again.

She saw Robin sigh as he walked back to her, "look, see," he scuffed his son's hair, "she's still here."

Roland looked up at her, his big brown eyes glossy with tears, "Gina, Gina!" He wriggled and got free from his father's arms, before finding her hand again.

"Apparently, you have a new number one fan."

"I see that," she nodded.

"Daddy, I want to know about America, don't you want to know about America too?" Roland placed his hands on his hips as he cast a challenging look at his father, one which caused Regina to laugh.

"Yes, and I am sure that Regina will tell us as much as she can before she has to go."

"Why?"

"Because."

"But we'll see her again right?" Roland stared up at Robin with an animated look on his face.

"I don't know about that one," Robin sighed, running his fingers gently through his hair.

"We'll never see you again?" Roland asked, looking up at her, the tears brimming in his eyes again.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head, oh god, she was a wreck, the things this child did to her after only knowing him less than an hour was insane, she felt like a mother leaving her child, but obviously, he wasn't her child and she definitely wasn't his mother, "I don't think so."

He took a shuddery breath and looked down at the floor, "do you not like me?"

"What? Of course, I like you," she sighed.

"Then why don't you want to see me again?"

She looked up at Robin who was simply staring at his son in what she could only describe as shock, he clearly wasn't used to seeing him like this and apparently, it was creeping him out a little bit. Shaking his head, he picked him up and let out a deep breath, "Roland, Regina is probably a very busy lady okay and you can't expect her to just stop what she is doing to come and play with you."

"I know," he whispered.

Regina realised that they had come to the exit and took a deep breath, she was going to have to say goodbye to them and would probably never see either of them again, which was affecting her more than it should, she didn't know them, not really, she was a complete stranger to them. "Well, I'm heading this way," she stated pointing to their left.

"We're going this way," Robin informed, gesturing in the opposite direction, "it was nice to meet you."

"You too, both of you," she smiled, looking at Roland and moving closer, "hey little man, I hope you're not going to be upset all day, look, you've got your T-Rex." She stated, touching the toy that he was still clinging onto, "thank you for telling me all the names of the dinosaurs." She stroked his cheek gently, apparently, he wasn't talking to her now, he'd all of a sudden gone very shy and she hoped he didn't hate her because she had told him that she wouldn't ever see him again, "Roland."

He looked up at her and cast her a sad smile, "it was nice to meet you Gina," he echoed his father's sentiments as he touched her face gently, before releasing a sigh.

"Bye bye Roland," she whispered, before turning to Robin, "goodbye."

"Goodbye," he nodded. She almost thought she heard some sort of sadness in his voice, but she must have been imagining it, they had only just met, there was no way he was sad about having to part ways, but the look on his face was betraying that thought.

"Bye."

"You already said that," he chuckled, casting her a dimpled grin.

"I know," she laughed, "this time I do actually have to go," she sighed, she was procrastinating, trying to delay the inevitable, she would walk away and never see them again, never see their matching dimples or Roland's face light up when she played with him or told him new things and it was silly for her to say that she was going to miss that, but she really was. It was time to just leave them, disappear and go back to her sad lonely life. "Bye," she stated one last time, before turning her back on them and walking away, having to hold her breath.

With each step, she regretted it more, her chest tightened, what the hell was happening to her? Why did she feel so connected to them? What was she doing? She had no way of ever talking to them again, ever contacting them, she was stupid, a complete idiot, she needed to do something, anything that would mean she would just be able to have one more conversation about dinosaurs with a lonely little boy who had no mother. She stopped waking and shook her head, she couldn't go any further, couldn't continue.

She turned around and began running back towards the store, "Robin! Roland!" She called out, looking around her, trying to find them in the crowd, they'd already left the front of the shop and walked away to wherever they were going, but she still carried on, moving past Hamley's in the direction he had told her they were leaving in, scanning faces frantically, trying to find them, but it was useless, they weren't there, they'd gone and she lost any chance of finding them again. "Robin! Roland!" She shouted once more, still going, her feet not allowing her to give up just yet, despite her head telling her that they were long gone.

She stopped and slumped against a wall, trying to catch her breath, they'd gone and she had lost them forever, lost something that could have been perfect. Who was she kidding though, it would have never worked, nothing ever did for her, she was destined to be alone, without anyone. If she had meant to be with them, it would have happened, they wouldn't have just walked away from each other, not without making sure that they had some way to contact each other first.

She rubbed a hand over her face, before shaking her head and standing back up again, what was done was done, she just had to get up and get on with her life, carry on and try to forget about the little boy and his father who had somehow crept under her defences and found a place in her heart. She cast one last glance to her left, just to make sure, that was when she spotted the green coat. Her eyes went wide and she was running again, before she could even process what was happening and make to change her mind, she was running down the busy streets of London, in heels!

"Robin!" she yelled, a smile working its way onto her face as she caught up and reached out to touch his coat, "Robin," she breathed. He turned around and the smile on her face immediately fell, along with all the relief that had flooded her veins, it wasn't him, it was just some man with the same coat and her heart clenched painfully in her chest, "sorry, I thought you were someone else," she whispered, looking down at the ground and trying not to cry.

She turned around and shook her head, before deciding to walk back to the hotel, where she would arrive late and probably get a telling off from Gold, but she didn't care, she had lost them forever and there wasn't anything she could do to fix that.


	2. What once was lost is now found

**Bet you all thought this was just going to be abandoned or an OS, well finally I got around to writing a part two, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

After dropping her bags off in her hotel room, she'd hurried to get to Gold and he did tell her off, but not much as he said they had to hurry and get to the offices in time for the meeting. So no sooner had she been back to the hotel, they were gone again, on their way to speak with one of the top London businesses. The last thing she wanted to do right now was go and meet with some potential business partners, but she had to, it was her job, it was what she had come here to do, to sit beside Gold and represent the firm.

They hopped out of the car, Gold had hired a private chauffeur, ever the exhibitionist, what was wrong with taking a cab? Or a taxi as they called them here in England. Sighing she followed Gold into the building, they made their way through the main entrance, passing security before going up to the main offices. They were meeting with the CEO, in one of the boardrooms. She made sure to stay close to Gold, mainly because he was walking fast for some reason.

She let out another sigh and he stopped abruptly, causing her to crash into the back of him, "Regina."

"Sorry," she winced, "you could have given me some sort of warning. Maybe said, oh Regina, I'm stopping now, might wanna stop too."

"What is going on with you today?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, scoffing lightly, "I'm fine, trust me, now are we going to this meeting?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and she knew that he wasn't buying what she was telling him, he knew there was something off with her, mainly because he knew her, probably knew her better than anyone else which was rather strange to think about. "Yes, but afterwards, I want you to come clean and tell we what it is that's bothering you."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, "let's go," she shooed him with her hands, trying to get him to move, but he looked at her for a few more seconds first, then headed off in the direction if the boardrooms. Regina followed him, trying her best not to sigh again, it was just she had a lot to sigh about, maybe that was what Gold was picking up on, the fact that she was making a lot of exacerbated noise for no reason, the thing was she couldn't help it, it just happened, she was feeling like a complete moron.

They walked past a large office which had many desks, all filled with computers and the staff all seemed to have disposable coffee cups and doughnuts, suddenly something caught her eye and she stopped in her tracks, leaving Gold to carry on walking. It couldn't be, could it? She must just be imagining things, there was no way, no way at all. Nevertheless, she pushed the large glass door open and walked into the office room which was abuzz with conversation. Biting her bottom lip, she moved closer and closer until she was behind him. Closing her eyes she tapped on his shoulder.

"Regina?"

The smile from earlier was back again as that voice confirmed what she thought she saw, her eyes opened and met an ocean of blue, "Robin," she breathed, not being able to stop the look of joy from spreading across her features. The thing was though, he looked just as happy to see her and had a matching grin, those beautiful dimples showing, god, how was it possible for her to have missed seeing them after only being apart for not even one whole hour.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he whispered, moving closer to her, she looked up at him and let out a little laugh.

"Neither did I."

"We tried to find you," Robin stated, "Roland wouldn't stop crying and I just kept thinking about never being able to see you again, or get to know you and it just… it didn't sit well with me, but you were gone."

"That's because I came to find you," she chuckled, shaking her head, "I think we both came to the same realisation."

"So we did," he nodded, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear causing her to let out a small gasp, after which he immediately apologised, "that was inappropriate."

"Why?" she laughed.

"If I made you feel uncomfortable I apologise."

"Really? I promise you I was not uncomfortable, in fact, quite the opposite," she smiled, staring at him as he stared back with those blues that looked as though they could see into her very soul. What was the coincidence of this, that they would meet again, London was a huge place with so many businesses, how was it that they just happened to be going to the same one, just like they had met in the store, it was all rather creepy. She couldn't care less about that though, she had found him and she wasn't going to let him go again without having a way to contact him.

"Oh, that's good," he nodded, "sorry, I just, I don't really interact very well with… you know what, never mind."

She smirked at him, he was a gentleman, pure and simple and he hated to think that he was doing something that would cause someone distress. "Is Roland okay now?" She asked, hoping that the little boy hadn't caused his father too much trouble.

"Yes, he's much better, it took him a while. I really don't know what happened there, he just seemed to get so attached to you in the brief twenty minutes he knew you, he doesn't do that with anyone, doesn't connect with anyone," he looked at her and she felt butterflies in her stomach as her heart seemed to tingle, she didn't know what that meant, but it wasn't a bad thing, that much she did know.

"I feel honoured that he chose me."

"I think he chose pretty well," Robin rose his eyebrows at her, "I was rather surprised that you have no children of your own, you had the touch of a mother."

"Thank you, let's just say I haven't been fortunate enough to have my own family just yet," she sighed, still smiling at him, it hadn't really sunk in yet that he was stood right there, "but I would really love to be a mother."

"You would make a good one."

"Regina, what are you doing?" Gold hissed from the doorway, "I thought you were behind me."

"Sorry, I… sorry, I'm coming," she nodded, having forgotten totally about the meeting, she turned to Robin and smiled at him before rooting around in the pocket of her jacket and taking out a card holder, passing him on of her business cards, "my number is on there, you'll call me, right?"

"I will most definitely call you," Robin grinned at her, slipping the card into the pocket of his suit jacket, "now I am pretty sure that fellow is desperate for you to follow him."

"Yes, sorry, bye."

"Bye."

She scurried off, running after Gold with a stupid smile on her face, she was just too happy to have found Robin again, "Gold," she called, managing to catch up with him.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"I just saw someone I knew that's all," she shrugged, hoping that he bought that, because he knew she had never been to England in her life, so how would it be possible that she knew someone from the country, unless they had moved here from the states, that would be a plausible excuse.

"Hmm," he cast her a somewhat sceptical look before coming to the correct floor and talking to the woman who was sat behind the desk, "Gold corporations here to see the CEO and his team."

"Ah yes, well I think he may be running a little late, but have a seat and I will see if I can get hold of him," she stated, gesturing towards the conference room, "the rest of his team are already inside."

"Very well," Gold nodded, opening the door and gesturing for Regina to go inside before him, she did and sat down in her allocated seat, looking at the papers in front of her, she needed to get her head back in the game, she had found Robin and now she could concentrate on doing her work and doing it well, not having to worry about having lost something that could have meant something to her.

She read a couple of the words of the document before she heard the door open and that newly familiar voice ring out, "sorry I'm late folks, I come baring coffees and doughnuts," he stated, placing the trays in the middle of the table as he caught her eyes and smiled, before moving to the head of the table and sitting down in the chair reserved for the CEO. "Well then, let's get down to business, shall we?"

* * *

After a productive meeting of Regina pretty much trying to hold back on flirting with Robin when she had to speak up, everyone began to filter out. Gold had shaken Robin's hand and left on the agreement that they would pick up again on Monday but what they had so far was a wonderful start towards a merger of their two companies in order to become the biggest in their field in the entire world, also making them the most powerful.

It kind of worried Regina because she knew the rumours about powerful men, men that had money, they were renowned for being untrustworthy and controlling, but she was certain that he wasn't like that. She had got to know him and in that time he had been nothing but sincere and friendly and just overall a nice guy, he must have literally bought coffee and doughnuts for every single one of his workers because she had simply thought he worked down there, it had looked like it by the way he had been interacting with them, like he was one of them and not their boss, probably even their bosses boss.

Once they had all gone Regina turned to Robin and smiled at him, "so?"

"So that was a success, was it? He's rather hard to read that man," he laughed perching on the desk as she collected her things together.

"Yeah, he is, he seems pretty impressed," she nodded, clipping the clasps on her briefcase and standing it up before going to put her coat on. "I think the merger will go smoothly, I'll put a good word in for you," she smirked, flicking her hair as she pulled it out of the collar of her jacket.

"You will?" he chuckled standing up and grinning at her.

"Hmm, I will."

"What are you doing for dinner tonight?" he asked.

"I was going to order room service and crash out in my hotel room," she shrugged, that had been her plan, she had just been on a flight all the way from New York, she should be feeling tired, but she just wasn't for some reason.

"Okay, I know this might sound slightly odd you having just met me and I totally understand if you say no, but would you maybe consider coming and having dinner with Roland and myself? Not going out or anything, just at our home?"

She could hear how eager he was, that he really wanted her to go and she wanted to go too, she wasn't going to pass up any opportunity, they were on borrowed time as it was, "yes, I would love to," she nodded, "that would be lovely."

"Perfect!" He stated excitedly before clearing his throat and running his fingers through his hair, "I mean that will be great, I know Roland will be over the moon to see you again."

"Yes and maybe he can show me the rest of his dinosaurs," she had to resist the temptation to ask if Robin himself would also be over the moon to see her, it was too forward and she wasn't that kind of girl, she wasn't really one for spontaneous relationships, or relationships in general for that matter. She told herself that she was happy being alone, sitting on the sofa with a good book, a glass of wine and her cat for company.

"Oh well if he does I don't think we will have the chance to talk all night because I can assure you once he gets going he won't stop."

"He's wonderful," she smiled, she really would be thrilled to see him again.

"He is," Robin agreed, "so how about six o'clock? Is that okay for you or…"

"Yes that's perfect."

"Great, I can send a driver to pick you up if you need it."

She thought about it for a moment, she could always take the tube, but then again she had no clue how she was ever going to really find his house, she had no clue how to get around London, never mind find one house in such a massive city, "are you sure that's no problem? If it is, I can just get a cab…"

"No it isn't a problem, I have a driver and you might as well use him."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes Regina, I'm sure," his hand went to his wallet and he pulled out his card before handing it to her and grabbing a pen from the centre of the table and scrawling down another number on it, "that's my personal cell, just text me the name of your hotel and I will get my driver to come and collect you, okay?"

"Okay," she unclasped her briefcase briefly so that she could place it safely in one of the sections. Looking up at him she suddenly felt rather shy and tucked her hair behind her ear, "so I guess I will see you sometime after six."

"I can't wait, what do you like to eat?"

"Anything really, I'm not fussy, except for seafood, it makes my skin crawl," she shuddered just thinking about it, her friend back home had once taken her to a sushi bar and she had nearly thrown up over the counter, mainly because of the texture of the raw fish and seaweed in her mouth, it had grossed her out somewhat.

"Oh I know right, that and I am allergic, so I can quite safely say that we will not be having seafood for dinner."

"Good," she smiled, picking up the brief case and beginning to walk to the door, "I am so glad that I didn't lose you," she had said it before she could stop the words from coming out and he probably thought she was ridiculous.

"Yeah me too, I can't wait to see you again tonight," he looked into her eyes and she felt her breath catch in her throat, his eyes were so blue, like too pools that she could just drown in and right now she was willingly drowning, not bothering to breathe.

"Me either," she nodded, extending her hand for him to shake which he did, his eyes not leaving hers as their hands touched and warmth swam through her again liked it seemed to always do whenever his skin came into contact with hers.

"You know what, I am going to see you out because I don't want to let you out of my sight just yet," he announced still holding onto her hand.

"Okay," she bit down on her lip a little, "do you think you might give me my hand back at some point?"

"Oh yeah, that," he let go of her hand and opted to move his to the base of her back as he opened the door, "shall we?"

"Hmm," she cast him a bright smile before moving out of the door and seeing that Gold had also been waiting for her and she had been stupid to think that he wouldn't have been considering they had ridden there together, how else was she bargaining on getting back to the hotel?

"Regina are you alright? Do you have everything?" Gold asked, eyeing them, especially the way that Robin was touching her, it was his protective streak, he saw her as his daughter and she knew that.

"Yes and yes," she grinned looking up at Robin, "Mr Locksley just offered to walk me out."

"I see, well dear we should be going, the driver has brought the car around so…"

"Right," Robin carried on walking with them as they all stepped into the lift, his hand had left her now though and the two of them were stood at the back of the elevator behind Gold. She looked up at him and he rose his eyebrows at her and she stifled a laugh, she knew what he was referring to, simply at how Gold was acting like a father who was assessing a potential prom date for his daughter.

They continued to share glances until the lift reached the ground floor and Gold strolled out with them following behind, once they reached the front doors they saw that whilst they had been inside the heavens had opened and the rain was literally bouncing off the street as it pounded the ground. The older man had already gone, simply pulling his hood up to cover his head, Regina however didn't exactly have a hood on her coat and knew should her hair get wet without having product it would simply go crazy and she would not be able to tame it again by tonight.

"Wow, it's really coming down out there," he stated and she saw him undo one of the buttons on his suit jacket before lifting it over both of their heads, "ready to run?"

"Robin no! You'll get soaked!"

"Come on," he laughed getting her to hold one side of his jacket.

"You are crazy!" she giggled as he pulled the door open.

"Three, two, one, go!" they both ran out of the building and down the steps to the sidewalk where her car was waiting. He pulled the door open for her and ferried her inside, slamming the door behind her once she was in. She wound the window down and touched his hand gently as the car pulled away, "see you tonight!" he called after her as she waved and flopped back when he was again out of sight.

She smiled to herself and chuckled, winding up the window and biting her bottom lip. She heard Gold clear his throat and turned to look at him, "what was that?"

"Seems that I have a date with too handsome men tonight," she chuckled, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Two?"

"Hmm, Robin and his son."

"Do you think it's wise to be going on a date with him?" Gold sighed.

"He's a five-year-old, I doubt he's going to try any funny business," she smirked, joking with him, there was no way that Gold was going to dictate to her who she could and could not see.

"I wasn't referring to the boy Regina, I was referring to the man, do you think it sensible to be getting involved with him when he may be a potential business partner?" Gold asked concern and warning laced within his voice.

"Gold," she sighed, "I really want to go, I like him."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt that's all."

"I won't," she shook her head finding his hand and giving it a brief squeeze, "I think I would hurt more if I didn't go."

"Then I suppose I should trust your judgement."

"I suppose you should."

* * *

It took Regina a while to decide what to wear, she wasn't sure if to go for something more casual or something that was semi formal. In the end she decided that she was only going to his house and it wasn't as though they were going out anywhere, so she pulled on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a deep red high necked jumper, thinking it to be inappropriate to wear anything she had with a cleave and that was the only item of clothing she had that didn't, she hadn't exactly been planning for this eventuality.

Once she was dressed she applied a light layer of makeup, finishing off with her signature red colour and pulling on some high heeled boots before grabbing her purse and heading out of the door to greet Robin's driver who had contacted her saying that he was outside.

She had wanted to get a little present for Roland so had stopped off beforehand at a small toy store on the corner, she didn't really have time to get all the way to Hamley's and back and get ready so she mused she would be able to find something in there and she had. She had bought him a small plush Brachiosaurus that fit in the palm of her hand, she deemed he probably had quite a few teddies, but hoped he would like it all the same.

Her hair had kinked a little in the rain, but it wasn't too bad so she had decided to leave it how it was, she didn't see the need to heat up her straighteners to get rid of her natural curls. Once she was out of the hotel she spotted the black limo, luckily the rain had stopped; she knocked on the window and it rolled down to reveal a bulky man with dark curls, "Regina?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"The names John, hop in."

She opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat, mainly because she didn't really want to sit in the back on her own, she would much rather make conversation, hopefully it would make her feel less nervous than she currently did. She could feel butterflies in her stomach, she wondered if Robin had told Roland that she was coming or if he had left it as a surprise, she really hoped it was a surprise because she wanted to see his reaction.

They pulled up outside a grand townhouse and Regina admired it before biting down on her bottom lip, "well, here we are, good luck and Robin is a really good guy just so you know."

"I know," she smiled, she did know, she had seen it in the brief time they had been together throughout the day. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open, wandered to up the stairs to the entrance of Robin's house and rang the doorbell, looking to the ground as she did so.

"Daddy, it's the door!" she heard Roland's little voice call and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself, bless his little heart.

"Go answer it then buddy, I'm right behind you," she heard Robin reply. With that the door swung open and she saw Roland's eyes go wide as he dropped the toy he was holding.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Roland Locksley, have I got the right house?" she joked

"Gina!" he squealed throwing his little arms around her, "you came back! I knew you would! I wished it on the feather! I wished you'd come back and you did, you did!"

"Yes, I did," she laughed running her fingers through his hair as she looked down at him and he stared up at her in wonder.

"Are you really here?"

"Yes," she smiled. "

"Come on, I want to show you our house!" he stated eagerly, his little hand grasping hers as he pulled her with him. She looked at Robin and grinned as he shut the door behind her. She unzipped her boots and placed them neatly beside Robin and Roland's which sat in the hallway.

"So I hope you like pizza, Roland insisted on pizza for his special dinner," Robin chuckled, ruffling his son's hair as they moved further into the house.

"Special dinner? You didn't tell me it was a special dinner, am I intruding on something?" she asked, slightly concerned that she was third wheeling on something planned between the two of them.

"No, of course not, do you think that I would have invited you if I didn't want you here?"

"I suppose not," she smiled, "what is the special occasion then? If you don't mind me asking." Roland pulled her into his playroom and it was her turn to be shocked, there was literally everything a little boy might want or need in that room and it was huge. Some of the floor had been painted to look like waves and there was a wooden boat with flags and masts that he could climb on, it had a plank that you could just off into a ball pool.

Then in the far corner she spotted a little fort with turrets and toy cannons which she could only assume you could fire the ball pool balls out of. To her right there was a tepee type tent which was currently surrounded by loads of dinosaurs. She had never seen anything like it, it was quite astounding. "My goodness," she gasped.

"I know, I think this area may have gotten slightly out of hand I just want it to be perfect for Roland, we don't have a garden really, so he needs space to run around and play," Robin quipped as his son disappeared inside the little tent. "I may spoil him slightly too much but…"

"He doesn't come across as spoilt," she stated, "not at all."

"He didn't even ask for any of this, except for a couple of the dinosaurs, but I like my little projects so birthdays and Christmases usually mean a new addition to the playroom, or his bedroom."

"It is amazing Robin. You didn't tell me the special occasion," she pointed out as they walked further into the room and lifted the flap to watch Roland as he played nicely with his toys in the tent.

"Ah, well, when Roland was younger he contracted an illness that caused both his kidneys to fail," Robin shuddered taking a deep breath, "I had just lost my wife Marian and I thought that I was going to lose my boy too, however luckily he got a transplant just in time. I was so scared that everything I had was going to crumble under me, that I was going to lose my family, but Roland, he's a little miracle."

Regina rubbed his arm soothingly, "that must have been torture."

"Yes, it was, so ever since then we have celebrated by having a special tea together to mark the day he had his operation, usually it's just the two of us but this year we have the honour of your company."

"Gina we have cake and everything!" Roland nodded excitedly as he looked up from, his toys, "we did last year didn't we daddy!

"Yes."

"Regina, do you want to look at my baby dinos?" he asked, his dark eyes sparkling as he looked up at her with a dimpled grin.

"I would love to look at your baby dinos!" she stated enthusiastically, climbing into the tent with him.

"I need to just go check on dinner, you don't mind staying with him do you?" Robin questioned.

"Of course not, I am quite happy to stay here and play with Roland," she smiled, sitting down crossed legged opposite him before taking the dinosaur that Roland passed to her eagerly. "Who is this?" she asked looking at the toy in her hand and back to Roland who was clapping.

"I know! It's the Triceratops!"

"Is it?"

"Yes! It is," he giggled falling onto her lap as he took it from her and showed her another one, "this is a Stegosaurus."

* * *

They had a lovely meal all sat around the dining room table which was covered in a children's table cloth that had dinosaurs on it, apparently Roland had quite the obsession with the scally reptiles. After that Robin insisted that it was time for Roland's bath, the little boy hadn't been best pleased about that, wanting to hurry and get back to Regina, she had offered to clean the pots whilst Robin cleaned Roland, something Robin had not been too happy about her doing, insisting that she was a guest in their house and shouldn't be cleaning up after them, but she insisted that she was capable of cleaning away a few plates.

She could hear them and it was funny to listen to what they babbled on about, it was mainly Roland talking to Robin, "Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Gina could stay here with us forever?

"I don't know about that one my boy."

"Why? Does Gina not like us? Does she not want to stay with us?"

"It's not that simple Roland, of course she likes us, she lives far away…"

"But I like Gina, I don't want her to go"

"She isn't going now, she's still here for a while yet, so how about we spend some time with her whilst she's here?"

"Yes! Does that mean I can have off school?" he asked eagerly and Regina pressed her lips together trying to stop herself from laughing at him as she put the plates in the dishwasher.

"No mister you cannot."

"Whyyy?!" he whined.

"Because how else are you going to get all smart?"

"I don't want to go to school though Daddy," he chuckled mischievously.

"Well then you're just lucky that it's the weekend then aren't you and hopefully if you ask her nicely Regina might want to spend some of her time here with us."

"I hope she does Daddy, I really do."

After Roland had his bath he came running out in his, believe it or not, dinosaur pyjamas, his brown mop of curls bouncing as he hugged her, "Gina, do you want to watch The Land Before Time with me?"

"Yes," she smiled, running her fingers through his damp hair, she felt slightly tired, but she wasn't going to say no to movie time. She and Roland flopped down onto the sofa and Robin came into the living room with a bowl of popcorn. The space was modern, with grey sofas and purple tartan cushions, the wall paper was decorated with birch trees and was a shimmery silver colour, Regina guessed that he probably had an interior designer, either that or he had really good taste. It was pretty tidy apart from the few toys scattered here and there, but that was to be expected with a young son.

"You don't mind this do you?" he asked and she could tell he was worried that she wasn't enjoying herself, even though this was the most interaction she'd had with any other human being for months, except from Gold but he didn't really count did he, that was work anyhow.

"Of course not, I have never seen this movie, so it should be good."

"This is my favourite film Gina," Roland beamed snuggling into her side as Robin sat down on the other side of him, Roland acting as somewhat of a barrier between the two of them. It was only as she was sat there combing through his hair that she realised that she hadn't gotten around to giving him his present yet.

She shuffled a little and found her purse, she took out the little toy and tapped on Roland's shoulder, "I got you a little something."

"Oh wow! Thank you so much," he cuddled it close to him, "it's a Brachiosaurus, Daddy, look at the dino Gina got me. I love him thank you!" he hugged her, his little arms going around her neck, she hugged him back, glad that she could make him happy, "I will treasure it always," he smiled pulling back to look in her eyes before settling down again, now clinging to the soft toy that was securely under his arm.

The film started playing and Regina met Robin's eyes over the top of Roland's head, he was looking at her in awe and she rose her eyebrows at him before chuckling and turning to the screen.

All the way through the film Roland had been pointing out things to Regina, telling her what they were she was really feeling the jet lag now and hummed along with him, simply holding him close as her eyes drooped. Robin kept looking over at her and she knew that he knew she was tired, the major giveaway was that he kept checking how much longer was left to play on the film. At one point though her eyes got too heavy and she couldn't help but give in to her need for sleep.

* * *

Regina woke to the feeling of someone running their fingers across her cheek and through her hair, groaning she nuzzled into the touch. Slowly her eyes opened and she saw Robin grinning down at her, "someone's tired," he quipped, his hand stopped moving and rested on her arm.

She smiled and brushed her hands over her face, "how long have I been asleep?" she asked. She couldn't really believe that she had fallen asleep whilst she was at Robin's, she usually would never sleep unless she was on her own in complete silence, but she hadn't been. She had been so comfy cuddled up with Roland on the couch that she must have dozed off.

"A while, Roland wanted to wake you up when he went to bed but I told him we should let you sleep."

She yawned and sat up, stretching her arms as she turned a little to see Robin properly, it was crazy how comfortable she already felt with the pair, she was usually quite awkward with new people but not this time, she had been asleep on his couch with her head practically on his lap. "You could have woken me up, I wouldn't have minded."

"Didn't have the heart to," he chuckled, placing the book that had been reading down on the little table which was beside the couch as he moved to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"But in terms of time, how long have I been asleep?" she asked rubbing her eye sleepily as she yawned again.

"Couple of hours," he nodded, "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up."

"I think I should probably be heading back to the hotel now before I fall asleep on you again," she stated, not really wanting to leave but finding the need to, she could hardly stay over, it wasn't proper and Gold would probably have a freak out if he wanted to have a mini meeting in the morning and she wasn't at the hotel. She moved off the sofa as he did and stretched a little more before picking up her purse.

"Sure, let me call John," he smiled, standing from the couch and grabbing his phone from the sideboard.

"I'll get a cab back," she waved her hand at him, not seeing the need for him to pester his driver at such a late hour.

"Not a chance, you'll probably never get a taxi on a Friday night anyway," he excused and she knew he was probably right, in NYC there was no way you were getting transport home, you would most likely have to brave the subway, she guessed it was probably the same in London and that was something Regina didn't really feel like doing at night.

"Thank you," she laughed, "I had a really lovely time tonight."

"Yeah, me too," he nodded, a goofy grin on his face, which was apparently contagious because she couldn't help but cast him a massive smile. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I was just going to explore London a little I think."

"Well, I'm taking Roland to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs, not that he hasn't been dozens of times, but would you maybe like to come along with us?"

"Yes," she agreed, shopping could wait, she would rather spend as much time as she could with Robin and Roland, "that would be lovely."

"Cool," he chuckled, running a hand through his hair and if she didn't know any better she would think that he seemed rather nervous around her and it made her want to laugh at him because it was cute, "do people even say cool anymore?"

"I do," she shook her head biting down on her bottom lip as there was a knock on the front door, "well I suppose I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I can't wait," he stated.

She looked at him and couldn't resist leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "see you tomorrow," she whispered opening the door and hurrying down the stairs to slip into the passenger seat of John's car.

"Make sure she gets back safe John," Robin waved.

"Will do," the other man winked as Regina rolled her window down.

"Night Regina."

She cast him one last smile, offering him a little wave as the car pulled away and she shouted "good night Robin."


	3. The date

**A couple of comments and follows popped into my inbox for this fic lately and I thought, why not write another chapter. So here it is, hope you enjoy! ;) xoxox**

* * *

They had been to the history museum and Regina hadn't been able to resist the temptation of buying Roland a new dinosaur to go with his collection. Unfortunately, she had been called up by Gold ordering her to come to the hotel to help him with some paperwork, she'd had to apologise to Robin and Roland before leaving, she'd not even had time to finish looking around.

Luckily, she hadn't been long with Gold and now she was back at her hotel laid out on the bed as she emailed on her mac book, she was messaging Henry, he was telling her how much he was missing her. She had just sent her last email saying how she was looking forward to seeing him again soon and giving him the present she'd bought him when her phone began ringing.

She leant over and grabbed her mobile from the side and answering the call, "Regina Mills."

"Robin Locksley."

"Haha, very funny," she rolled her eyes, leaning against the headboard as she bit down on her bottom lip, playing with the edge of the duvet.

"You're very formal when you answer the phone milady."

"Well, I didn't know it was you did I," she chuckled as she ran her hands over the bedding and moved over to the window looking out onto the streets of London and watching the passers-by.

"Do you not have caller I.D," he laughed.

Regina shook her head, "enough about that, now I guess you had a reason for your call, unless you just wanted to tease me some more about the way I speak."

"Yeah, urm, I, I just wondered if… I wanted to know if…"

"Come on, spit it out Robin," she joked, he had some cheek badgering her when he couldn't even get his words out properly.

"Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?" he blurted.

She felt her cheeks heat up as she nibbled on her bottom lip, "I would love to go to dinner with you and Roland."

"Ah, urm, I meant with just me, Roland is at his friend's house tonight for a sleep over so I thought that maybe we could just grab a bite to eat at a restaurant. That's if your free and you want to go of course."

"So, a meal in a restaurant, just the two of us. Like a date you mean?" she smiled feeling her heart begin to race within her chest, he was asking her out and she didn't know how to feel about that. She hadn't been on a date in so long, she'd been throwing herself into her work, but the prospect of going on one now with someone she just happened to really like was a good one.

"Yeah, I suppose, or not if you don't want, it could just be dinner."

"Well, I would love to go on a dinner date with you," she stated as she moved over to her case to see what she had to wear, "so, where are we going?"

"Just somewhere casual," he informed her.

"Sounds perfect."

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Then I suppose I will see you then."

"Till then milady," the phone went dead and a massive smile formed on Regina's face, she dropped the phone down on her bedside table and flopped down on the bed. She had a date!

* * *

Regina waited in the lobby looking in the mirror that was stationed behind the reception desk, she straightened her hair before perching on one of the chairs in the entrance. It was five to seven, but she figured it wouldn't do any harm to be early, glancing at her shoes she knocked them together impatiently, she was feeling nervous, she didn't know how the date would go, she could only hope that it would live up to her expectations. So far Robin had been wonderful and there was no reason for her to think that this date would be anything but the same.

"Regina."

"Gold, what are you doing here?" she questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

"I thought would stop by at the hotel restaurant for a spot to eat, I don't suppose you would care to join me would you."

"Ah, I have other plans," she confessed. She knew where Gold stood on her relationship with Robin, he hadn't been all that accepting of her plans when she had informed him of them on Friday, so she doubted that he would be happy for her now.

"I see, well, I hope you have a lovely evening Regina, I expect to see you in the dining room on Monday morning for final briefing, we will be leaving shortly after that."

"Yes," she whispered, watching as he walked away and letting out a deep sigh. She'd almost forgotten the inevitable, the fact that she wouldn't be able to have anything significant with Robin because she lived in America whilst he lived here in England. She was torturing herself by allowing herself to get mixed up within it. She had a feeling that she would end up with her heart broken, she'd allowed herself to fall too far and she was the one who would be getting hurt as a result of that.

What was she thinking? This was such a bad idea, she couldn't do it to herself, she shouldn't have spent so much time with them. She'd already become so attached to him and it was a huge mistake. She stood from the chair, she couldn't do this, couldn't allow herself to fall for him even more than she had already. Regina darted for the lift but as she was waiting she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hi, sorry am I late?"

She closed her eyes and turned around to look at him, "Robin, no I… no you're not late, I was just…" she stopped staring at him, now he was here she couldn't do it, she couldn't bail on him, the look on his face was too much, there was no way she could just leave him in the lurch, she'd agreed to the date.

"You ready?" Robin asked, he was kinda worried that she had changed her mind, she looked as though she didn't want to go and that was the exact opposite to what it had sounded like on the phone.

"Yes, I'm totally ready," she nodded.

"Are you sure? If you don't want to go that's okay…"

"I want to go," she smiled heading towards the exit, "I really do Robin."

"Good, I'm glad," he chuckled walking with her. She'd scared him there for a moment, he actually thought that she didn't want to go, he was really happy that she was still up for it. He really, really wanted this to go right.

* * *

"So," Regina bit down on her bottom lip as she sipped on the glass of lemonade she ordered, she wanted to stick to soda before she moved onto something alcoholic, seemingly Robin was on the same wavelength as she was. Robin looked more casual than she had ever seen him, in a blue polo shirt and jeans, she liked seeing him like that, out of the usual suit pants and shirt. "How was the rest of your day? Did Roland enjoy the rest of the trip to the museum?"

"Yeah, he did, I think he missed you though, he kept saying Regina would have liked this, or Regina would like that. In fact, he made me take photos of the things you might have liked so I could show you later," Robin laughed shaking his head as he thought about his son.

"Aww, how adorable," Regina cooed as she took the phone from Robin and looked at the images on his phone, seeing Roland stood with a big grin on his face as he pointed to different objects. "He really is the sweetest," she smiled, scrolling through the pictures, landing on a selfie of Robin and Roland outside the blue whale in the entrance. "You both are," she handed the phone back to him and picked up the menu, "do you know what you're wanting?" she asked, feeling her face heat up.

He chuckled at her embarrassment before glancing down at the menu, "I was thinking fish and chips."

"I'm going to go with the burger and chips," she hummed, putting the menu down again and looking up at him. Just looking at him made all the fears she'd been feeling earlier well to the surface and before she could stop herself she was blurting out everything she was thinking about, "what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" he furrowed his eyebrows, leaning back in his chair and looking at her, trying to work out what was going through her head, he had known something was wrong when he first turned up at the hotel and she had been putting on a façade since then, trying to cover up what she really felt.

"We're sat here having a good time and the past couple of days have been just perfect, but what happens on Monday?" Regina rushed, she just needed to know what he thought, needed to know whether he was on the same wavelength as she was.

"Monday?" he questioned, he didn't know what she was talking about, but he had a bad feeling about it.

"Monday, when I return home to America hundreds of miles away from here," she whispered regretfully. She knew she had only just met Robin and Roland, but that didn't change the way she already felt about them.

Robin sighed and shook his head, he'd been thinking about it himself, but had been trying to avoid it, he didn't want to think about the possibility of losing her after having only just found her. He wanted them to enjoy the time they had, "I think we should just enjoy the time we have," he smiled, reaching for her hand and taking it gently in his, "I know you're going to have to leave, but I really want to spend time with you while you're here."

Regina nodded, he was right and she knew it, she couldn't stay away from Robin and Roland and she might as well enjoy the time she would have with them before she left. "Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Good," he grinned stroking her cheek gently, he was about to say something more as his phone began to ring, vibrating on the table with the number of Roland's friend's mother. "Sorry, it seems I'm being facetimed."

"Answer," she stated, "I'm just going to pop to the bathroom." Regina stood from the table and made her way towards the restroom, she looked in the mirror and rubbed a hand over her face, she needed to talk to someone else about this situation. Someone who was impartial. Taking her phone out of her pocket she found her best friend's number and called her.

"Millsy! It's about time you called, how's London, are you totally bored hanging out with Gold?" her friend sniggered.

Regina rolled her eyes, "no actually Emma, and hello to you too. Actually, I am calling because I need your advice on something."

"Cool, everyone knows that I am the best at advice, so what do you need help with? Wait can I guess?"

"No," Regina replied bluntly.

"Are you crushing on Gold? Because that would be weird."

"Ew, no, he's practically my father, that's disgusting."

"True. Urm so, you want to plan a robbery and need to know how to pick a lock?"

"Emma! Be serious," Regina scolded, her friend could be annoying at times and right now she just needed some genuine advice.

"Okay, sorry, sorry, what is it?"

"I met someone."

"No. Fucking. Way! I would never have guessed that one! You met someone! Oh my god Regina, that's… wow."

"Thanks, glad to see you think that I am capable of meeting someone," Regina breathed as she slumped against the wall.

"Okay, sorry, so what's he like, what's the issue?"

"He is just perfect and he has this son who is just the most perfect, beautiful little boy. I have fallen for him Emma and I don't know what to do, I don't want to get hurt," she whispered.

"Shit, well okay, just go for it Regina. Don't ruin something that could be great."

"Well he does live here in London whilst I live in New York, that's kinda a big problem, don't you think?"

"I suppose, but do you really want to just give up and not see them?"

"No," she sighed, she really didn't, she'd already been through this conversation, but maybe it took her best friend telling it to her for her to actually listen to what her heart was saying and spend as much time with him as she possibly could. "Thanks Emma, I have to go, I'm kind of on a date."

"Yeah, I should be going too, I'm not really supposed to be on my phone at work," a woman shouted in the background for her to put it down, "shut it, I'm trying to talk to someone here!" Emma yelled back, "sorry about that Gina. Gotta go, speak to you later. Love you."

"Love you too," Regina cut off the call and straightened her hair before heading back out into the restaurant. She watched Robin as he was talking on face time a massive smile on his face, she stood just looking at him for a few seconds before moving to join him, sitting back in her seat.

"She's here now Roland," Robin stated looking up at Regina and grinning at her, "do you want to talk to her?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Phone call for you milady," Robin chuckled as he passed her his phone and sat back watching as she talked to his son, mainly about what she had missed during the time they were at the museum without her. He asked if she liked the pictures and carried on talking to her for another five minutes about what he was doing at his friend's house.

"Sammy has this cool train set and we've been setting it up."

"That sounds brilliant," she smiled as she watched the happy chappie through the phone screen, the dimples never leaving his face as he chatted away to her. She loved him already, it was crazy but she really did, how could you not fall in love with him? He was the perfect child and charming just like his father.

"Guess what though Gina, the train is big enough for the small dino to ride on. I brought the one you gave me, look," he held up the plush toy to the camera, putting it a little too close so she could only really see colourful scales filling the screen.

"Wow, you must be having lots of fun."

"Yep. Will you pick me up with Daddy tomorrow?" he asked, his chocolate eyes going wide as he pleaded with her through the camera.

"Well, it's up to your daddy, but I would love to."

"Of course, you can," Robin chuckled, god it had been so long since anyone had interacted with Roland the way that Regina did, she was genuinely interested in his life and whether he was having a good time and in return his son had quite clearly become rather attached to her, in fact Robin would wager that she had been all he talked about since they met. "Hey buddy, I think we'll have to say goodnight now because it's past your bedtime and I'm sure that Sammy's mummy will be wanting you both sleeping."

"But I want to talk to Gina more," he pouted.

"Roland, you can talk to Gina tomorrow okay, but now it's bedtime okay, so say goodnight."

"Night Gina, I can't wait to spend the day together tomorrow."

"Me either, goodnight sweetheart," she waved back at him as Robin took the phone from her and said his own goodnight. She closed her eyes, not being able to stop herself from imagining what they would be like as a family, it was ludicrous, she knew that, she must be a crazy person for thinking it after only knowing them two days, but she couldn't help it. It was as though she was drawn to them and unable to pull herself away from them.

"So whilst you were in the bathroom the waiter came and I figured you wouldn't mind if I ordered for you."

"No of course not, I told you what I wanted," she chuckled. "I've actually been on a date before where the guy insisted on ordering my food because he seemed to think that he knew what I would like more than I knew myself. Let's just say, I didn't see him again. Ever."

"Seriously?" Robin raised his eyebrows, someone would actually do that? "Was that the first date?"

"And the last," she nodded, "so, what was the worst date you ever went on?"

"Ah, it was really bad."

"How bad?" she smirked, she liked hearing stories like this, it was amusing to listen to the funny things that happen to people.

"Really bad. It was around a year or so after my wife died and I had been on a couple of dates, mainly my friends trying to set me up, But this one was the worst, my friend Will set me up with this girl and claimed that she would be perfect for me. I was reluctant to go, but went anyway and it turned out that the girl he had set me up with thought that she was going on a date with Will instead of me and she had secretly been in love with him for five years. Basically, the whole date turned into her crying on my shoulder about how much she loved him and asking me why he didn't love her back. It was a whole world of awkward."

Regina laughed into her lemonade and shook her head, "wow, that is a good one, I hope you told your friend off for pulling that trick."

"Yep," he grinned, "so, was the guy ordering your meal the worst date or do you have one to top that?"

"Oh, I definitely have one to top that, in fact I doubt that one is even in my top three," she rolled her eyes before meeting his, "not that I'm some sort of serial dater, I just have never really found anyone I've had a proper spark with, there has never really been any real chemistry, hence the hordes of terrible dates I just so happen to have been subjected to."

"I get it, dating is just not fun really is it, especially when you are sat there waiting for it to end."

"Which let's face it is 80% of the time," she scoffed, she hated dating and it happened to be worse when it was a blind date and she had never met the person before. Emma tended to just try and get her hitched with anyone single she found, acting as her own personal dating site but without the profile matching. "I think I might have a glass of wine actually."

"Good idea," Robin agreed as he called the waiter over for them to give their drink orders. The thing was he and Regina seemed to just get each other and there was no denying they had the chemistry that she was talking about being lacking with other people, he'd been feeling that chemistry since the second they met and it wasn't just lust, it was something more than that. He was drawn to her, he couldn't explain why, but he was.

Once the waiter had left he started up the conversation again, "so you were telling me about your worst date."

"Oh, yes, well. My friend Emma, she's Henry's mother, my god son who I was buying the dinosaur for. Anyway, she once set me up with this guy she worked with, she told me that he was a catch and that I should just go on this date with him and see where it led. So, I agreed and he took me to a strip club."

"What?" Robin's eyes widened at what she was telling him, that was actually insane.

"I know, I went inside and got quite a shock," she laughed, "apparently he doesn't only work with my friend, his night-time job is as a male stripper and he couldn't get of work for our date so he figured he'd treat me to a lap dance at work instead."

"Holy crap. Did that really happen? Like seriously?"

"Yes, honestly, I'm not lying it happened. I didn't take him up on the offer, I got the hell out of there and never saw him again," she chuckled, looking up and thanking the man who placed the glass of red wine in front of her. "I now refuse to go on a date with someone she has set me up with, I was nearly scarred for life."

"Crazy," Robin took a sip from his own glass before looking up at her, "I can assure you milady that I am not a male stripped on the side," he stated in the most serious fashion.

She almost choked on her drink as a loud laugh burst from her lips, "oh my goodness," she giggled wiping her mouth on her napkin. "The way you just said that," she shook her head, "I never thought you were a male stripper."

"Good to know," he bit on his bottom lip and reached for her hand once again, "I'm really happy that you agreed to come on this date with me."

"So am I."

* * *

"That was the best burger I have ever eaten in my entire life," Regina groaned as she sipped on the rest of her wine, sitting back in her chair as she closed her eyes briefly.

"They do pretty good burgers here," he nodded as he asked for the bill, "I have somewhere else I would like to take you, if you want."

"Yes, where is it?"

"That's a surprise," he rose his eyebrows, "you trust me, right?"

"Of course," she smiled, she did trust him it was odd how she did, but she couldn't help it, she felt so safe with him, "I suppose I'll finish the rest of this glass," Regina hummed, taking the last sip and placing her empty drink back down on the table.

Robin paid the bill and stood from the table, reaching his hand out for hers, she took it and stood also, grabbing her coat from the back of the chair and putting it on before leaving the restaurant with him hand in hand.

They climbed into the waiting cab and sat back, Robin had his arm around her shoulders as she leant into him, looking out of the window at the surroundings and letting out a contented sigh, "I take it you still won't tell me where we are going," she huffed looking up at him in mock annoyance.

"It takes the fun out of it if you know," Robin chuckled, knowing they were already nearby, they could have walked, but there was a bit of a chill in the air and he didn't want to risk anyone getting sick, Regina's coat wasn't exactly one made for the current temperature.

"Hmm," she smiled pressing her lips to his shoulder gently, not even thinking about it, "is this a surprise that I will like?"

"I hope so," he grinned squeezing her hand gently as the car came to a stop, so yeah, they definitely didn't have to get a taxi.

"We're here already? Couldn't we just have walked?" she laughed as he got out of the car and paid the driver.

"In hindsight we could have walked, but it is cold out and I figured that we might as well just get a cab," he shrugged as she slipped her hand into his and drew him closer to her. "This way milady," he tugged her with him, leading her to their destination, as they rounded the corner he heard her gasp and smirked to himself.

"Big Ben?" she asked, looking up at the clock tower in awe, she'd been past it in the day time, but to see it all lit up was something else entirely.

"Hmm, it's usually better, they're doing it up which it why it's covered in scaffolding," he huffed, he wished she could have seen it properly, but from the look on her face she didn't mind, that wasn't even his surprise yet, so he had a feeling she was going to love what he had in store for her. "Come on, across this bridge, no peeking," he covered her eyes playfully as she walked a little in front of him and they came to a point where they could stop and see what her surprise would be, "right, now you can look." He dropped his hands and opted to wrap them around her gently.

"Oh my gosh," she gripped the side of the bridge as she looked at the huge wheel that towered above the ground, "we aren't going on there," she laughed as she turned around to look at him, "are we?"

"Only if you want to, probably should have asked if you have a fear of heights first."

"A little fear of heights," she admitted, her own arms coming around his neck as she looked into his eyes, "but, I do really want to go, will you hold onto me?"

"Of course," he nodded, reaching up and tucking a curly strand of dark hair behind her ear, "you're gonna have to hold onto me because I'm bloody terrified of heights," he confessed nervously. It was the truth, he'd only been on the eye once and that was to take Roland, he'd almost throw up when they reached the top, whereas Roland had come off wanting to go on again.

"Deal," she smiled, "you don't have to go on just for me you know, I don't mind…"

"I want to take you," he chuckled, "come on," he let go of her for a moment only for her to wrap her arm around his as they made their way closer to the tall spinning wheel. God, he hated that thing.

They held onto each other as the stepped inside the pod with the reminder from the staff that it was perfectly safe and there was nothing to worry about. Regina looked up at Robin and thought he might actually have been turning a green colour, he obviously was more scared of heights than he was letting on, "you okay?" she asked as they sat down on the wooden bench in the middle of the pod, figuring it might be better to remain seated to begin with.

"Yeah, fine," he nodded, he wasn't really, but he wanted to do this and share the memory with her, it would be something they could look back on and remember, hopefully not for him throwing up all over her. He just had to get his nerves in check and remember what the woman said, they were perfectly safe, even if they were going to be one hundred plus meters off the ground.

"Thank you, for bringing me here," she smiled as she leant in and pressed her lips to his cheek in a chaste kiss, "this is really turning out to be the most wonderful night," of my life, she wanted to add the last part, it was the truth, but maybe she was best holding out on saying that until they were off the ride.

After about ten minutes when they were halfway to the top, Regina stood from the chair and moved closer to the edge, her eyes widening at the sight, it was truly beautiful, the whole of London was lit up, shining brightly and from where she was the view was spectacular. She shook her head and held onto the bar in front of her, it was simply amazing, the most wonderful thing she had ever seen in her entire life. She glanced behind her, seeing that Robin was watching her, she winked at him before turning back to the view before her.

Robin let her look for a couple of minutes, she looks stunning stood there, her jeans were sculpted to her and the red cashmere jumper helped to show off her curves. Her dark curls fell to her shoulder and when she turned around and winked at him like that, not quite mastering that talent, his heart began to beat just that much faster. The view was nothing in comparison to her, it couldn't hold a candle to her beauty, nothing could.

Taking a deep breath, he stood from the safety of the middle of the pod and walked over to her, standing beside her as his hand rested atop hers on the bar, "it's breath-taking isn't it," she gushed.

"Hmm, stunning, in every way," he breathed, not tearing his eyes from her for a second.

She turned to look at him, her eyes widening at the intensity of his stare, she felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment, she knew he had been talking about her and not the view outside. She felt as though she were in some kind of romantic movie and playing the staring roll, but she wasn't, this was her life, this was real and most importantly he was real and the most perfect gentleman she could ever wish to meet.

One of her hands came to rest on his upper arm, their eyes never straying from one another's as they moved in closer, he was holding her, one of his hands cupping her cheek, "Regina," he whispered.

"Yes?" She swallowed heavily, praying that he wouldn't pull away and that he would make a move to kiss her, they were the only ones in the dome, but the other people were at the opposite side and rather immersed within their own lives.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, he didn't know why he'd just done that, he should have just kissed her instead of making himself look like a fool and…

"You didn't have to ask," Regina replied, closing the gap and pressing her lips to his tenderly, their lips grazing across one another's, softly at first, like two petals blowing against each other in the wind. Regina's grip on his arm increased and her other hand came up on the opposite side, her body moving closer to his so they were pressed flush against one another.

The kiss ended and they both stared at one another, she wanted more, needed more of him than just a brief kiss, as beautiful and amazing as that kiss might have been, she wanted another kiss, she wanted a deeper kiss, to be able to hold him close and feel everything all at once.

This time he didn't ask, he just acted, pulling her to him and crashing his lips against hers, his hand cupping the back of her head and guiding her into the kiss as his other hand went to the small of her back, running over her cardigan. It had been a long time since he had kissed someone like this, with so much fire. Regina set him alight, she made him feel things that he thought weren't possible to feel ever again after Marian's death, but here they were, with Regina.

His tongue ran across her lips begging for entrance which she granted, pairing her tongue with his and holding onto him, her arms now wrapped tightly around him as she moaned into his mouth. God, she could barely breathe it was so wonderful, the way he kissed and touched her just made her feel alive, more alive than she wagered she had ever felt in her life. This had been what was missing, this sheer passion and desire.

When they broke apart their lips were bruised and they were panting heavily, "well, that was something," she gasped, not moving from her spot pressed against him, still sharing the same air.

"It really was, you're an exceptionally good kisser."

"You're not so bad yourself," she smiled, resting her forehead against his, her fingers running up and down his back. They turned a little so they could look out of the window for the rest of the ride, never once letting go of one another, clinging on and touching at every opportunity they had.

When the ride came to an end they hopped off and walked hand in hand towards the tube station, "Regina, I have had a wonderful night," Robin stated as they headed down the tall escalator into the underground.

"Is the night over?" she whispered, looking up at him hopefully, she wanted to at the very least snuggle with him, after all, he did say that they had to make the most out of the time they had together.

"Do you want it to be?"

"No," Regina shook her head.

Robin took a deep breath and looked at her, "would you like to come back to my house?"

"I think I would like that very much, though I don't know if I'm ready for that step yet," she confessed, she didn't know what had driven her to say it, she felt ready, but maybe it was because she didn't want him thinking her to be easy. She wasn't, but that didn't matter, she really wanted him to respect her and think a lot of her. She didn't just sleep with men just like that, not normally anyway.

"We don't have to do anything, we could just sleep, or watch a movie."

She bit down on her bottom lip as she nodded, "that sounds perfect actually, I think I would rather like to fall asleep in your arms again, you made a perfect pillow the last time," she joked as they hopped onto the train that would take them to the stop they needed. Robin held her as they stood in the crowded carriage, it felt so good to have his arms around her and just feel his warmth.

* * *

When they arrived at Robin's place, they broke open a bottle of wine and took it to the bedroom, he'd allowed her to borrow one of his shirts to sleep in and she curled against him under the covers as a film played quietly on the television. He ran his fingers through her dark locks, thinking about how soft her hair was in his touch, it felt almost like strands of silk.

"Hmm, that's nice," she moaned, looking up at him as her own fingers continued to dance over his chest, he was making her feel tired and his hands in her hair were almost enough to send her to sleep. His bed was also really comfier, much cosier than the one back at her hotel which was hard and cold, this was soft and warm and she had most certainly made the right decision coming back here with him.

"So is that," he nodded towards her hands and she smiled before closing her eyes, she really was sleepy but that didn't stop her from leaning up and pressing her lips to his, kissing him soundly and humming against him. "That's even better," he chuckled, opening his own eyes to look at her, his hand moving to cup her cheek tenderly, "you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"I love these," she whispered, one finger tracing his dimples, "and your eyes just draw me in."

"Just like yours do to me," he grinned.

"I don't ever do this," she admitted.

"Do what?"

"Never mind," she shook her head, she had wanted him to know that she didn't go home with random guys after only one date, but she'd already told him that she wasn't ready for sex yet and she knew that he would respect that, "I just wanted you to know that, tonight has really been one of the best nights of my life," she confessed, "I really mean that."

"Mine too," he smiled, moving further down in the bed and bringing her with him so that her head was pillowed on his chest. She closed her eyes and nuzzled against him, "are you tired?"

"Yes, I've had a very busy day," she stated, her arm draping over his abdomen as she cuddled closer, yawning slightly in the process, truthfully, she was exhausted, she'd been up really early and then out and active almost all day, she was ready for a nice long sleep.

"Sleep," he whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair as he held her close and turned off the television and the lights.

"Good night Robin," she breathed quietly as she drifted off, slipping from consciousness.

"Good night Regina," he grinned, stroking her back. He was already in love with her.


End file.
